Tournament Rules
A. Sportsmanship Players are expected to be respectful and behave in a polite manner towards all tournament attendees, players, judges, tournament officials, and spectators. Players who engage in unsporting conduct or behavior that endangers or detracts from the event, will be removed from the venue. Players should read the KDE Official Penalty Guidelines for a better understanding of acceptable behavior at tournaments. B. Reporting the Match Result Players are responsible to accurately report the result of their Match. The outcome of a Match cannot be changed once the Match has concluded. The Match Result Slip cannot be altered once it has been submitted. C. Bribery & Collusion The outcome of a Match may not be influenced by any outside incentives or additional prizes/compensation. Offering or accepting a bribe is against tournament policy and will result in a Disqualification from the event. D. Random Outcome Players or tournament officials may not randomly determine an outcome of a match, such as flipping a coin or rolling a die. Failure to follow this rule will result in a Disqualification from the event. E. Tie-Breakers The following are the tiebreakers used to determine a player’s ranking in the tournament. #Match Wins #Opponents’ match-win percentage #Opponent’s opponents’ match-win percentage F. Note Taking Note taking is not allowed in Sanctioned Konami tournaments, with the following exceptions: Players in Sanctioned Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG tournaments should keep a written record of both players’ Life Points for each Duel. Tracking of mandatory effect reminders. Tracking of turns and turn counters. : These notes should be taken quickly, so as not to disrupt the flow of the Game. Players may not use outside notes during a Match, which includes in between Games of a Match. Players may consult a copy of their Deck list between Matches, to ensure they have restored their Deck to the proper state. G. Game State Players are responsible to accurately represent the Game State at all times, and truthfully answer questions about any aspect of the Game State that is considered to be public knowledge. Both players must indicate to one another all components of their Deck. Depending upon the game, this can include a Main Deck, Side Deck, and Extra Deck. Cards must be laid out according to the pattern established by a game’s Game Mat. Players may not create their own layouts unless it is deemed necessary by the Head Judge due to a disability, etc. All cards, including in-play cards, Decks, etc., must be kept in their appropriate areas. Players may not shift the positions of cards once they have been played to the field, unless directed to do so by a card effect or game mechanic. If a player requires tokens or counters, the player should use a sufficient quantity of tokens or counters to accurately represent each game effect. Players should never use any object (including cards) for a token or counter if it could be mistaken for another game element. Keeping track of Life Points for the game must be done in view of both players. Players must keep their hands and cards visible and above the table at all times. H. Sleeves A player may choose to use plastic card sleeves to protect their cards during the course of a tournament. All sleeves must be identical in terms of color, wear, and design, and all cards must be placed into sleeves in the same direction and manner. Players may not “double sleeve” their decks. Only one sleeve may be used on each card. Players may have only one card in each sleeve. Players may not have anything but that card in the sleeve. At Tier 2 events, the quality of player’s sleeves will be held to a higher standard. Any sleeves with noticeable patterns or wear may be subject to penalties. Sleeves with highly reflective backs are not allowed. Sleeves with artwork, provided they are all identical, are allowed. Sleeves with excessive wear, noticeable patterns, or other identifying characteristics may be disallowed by the Head Judge. If you have a question about the legality of your sleeves, the Head Judge is the final arbiter as to whether or not your sleeves can be used in that tournament. I. Shuffling A player’s Deck must be randomized by using an accepted shuffling method (riffle, pile, Hindu, etc.) and then cut. This must be done at the start of every game, and whenever a game mechanic requires the player to shuffle their Deck. Each player must thoroughly randomize (shuffle) their Deck where the opponent can see. A player cannot check or order the cards when shuffling A player cannot pre-sort their Deck (sorting Monsters/Spell/Trap, etc) without thoroughly shuffling the Deck afterwards. After the Deck is thoroughly randomized, it must be presented to the opponent. The opponent must randomize (shuffle) the Deck further and then return it to the original owner. The owner may then “cut” their Deck. If they do, they must present it to the opponent who must “cut” the Deck again and then present it back to the original owner. No additional randomization may be done to the Deck after this point. By presenting your Deck to your opponent, you agree that you have sufficiently randomized your Deck. J. Marked Cards A card is considered to be marked if it can be identified without seeing the front of the card. This includes but is not limited to warping, creases, discoloration, card thickness or texture, and water-marks. If the cards are sleeved, this includes but is not limited to sleeves with identifying marks or other unique characteristics that distinguish it from other cards in the Deck. Cards that have been physically altered to add or subtract layers of foil, etc, are not legal for Sanctioned tournament play. If players are using sleeves to protect their cards, they should take extra precautions to ensure that their sleeves do not become marked during the course of a tournament. The Head Judge may require a player to re-sleeve their Deck should they feel that the sleeves are marked. The Head Judge may require a player to replace a marked card(s) during the course of a tournament. If the player cannot replace the card(s) before their next Match begins, appropriate tardiness penalties at three minutes and ten minutes will begin to apply, as the player no longer has a Deck that matches their registered Deck list. The tardiness penalties are in addition to the penalties that were applied for Marked Cards. On extremely rare occasions, a player may pull a miscut or misprinted card from a product. These cards are not considered to be tournament legal if they can be identified without seeing the front of the card. If they cannot replace the card(s), or choose not to replace the card by the 10-minute mark in the Match, they will be marked as a no-show and dropped from the tournament. If the player does not wish to drop from the tournament, they must notify the scorekeeper. K. Proxy Cards Proxies (cards used to represent a different card) are not allowed in Sanctioned events. Photocopies, cards that have been relabeled, etc. are considered “proxies” and cannot be used in your Deck in a Sanctioned tournament. L. Counterfeit Cards Counterfeit cards (fake cards that are created by third-party companies that can resemble officially released cards) cannot be used in your Deck in a Sanctioned tournament. If anyone has any information regarding the sale and distribution of counterfeit cards, they should e-mail all relevant information to us-opsupport@konami.com (North America), la-opsupport@konami.com (Latin America and the Caribbean) or yugioh@konami-europe.net (Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand). M. Concessions A player may concede a game at any time during the course of a Game or Match (including during the opponent’s turn), provided he or she has not been offered or has accepted any sort of compensation for doing so. Once a Match has concluded, players may not concede to the opponent. Players who concede in exchange for cash, prizes, or other incentives are guilty of Bribery and Collusion, which violate the Konami Penalty Guidelines. Click here to return to TRADING CARD GAME Tournament Policy.